Mary Magdalene

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Mary Magdalene or Mary of Magdala (original Greek ????? ?
?????????,^[1]^ Heb., Miriam)^[2]^is
described, both in the canonical New Testament and in the New
Testament apocrypha, as the most important woman in the movement of
Jesus. She also was the most prominent female disciple of
Jesus. According to the gospels, she was one of
the few witnesses to his crucifixion, and the Gospels say she was
the first person to see him after his resurrection. Because she
played such an important role in these events, she is one of the
best-known figures in the
New Testament.

Contents

Name

Consistently in the four Gospels, Mary Magdalene is distinguished
from other women named Mary by adding "Magdalene" (? ?????????) to
her name.^[1]^ Traditionally, this has been
interpreted to mean that she was from
Magdala,
a town thought to have been on the western shore of the
Sea of Galilee.
Luke 8:2 says that she was actually "called Magdalene." In
Aramaic, "magdala" means "tower" or "elevated,
great, magnificent".^[3]^

Prominence

Early Christian writings offer literary representations and
preserve historical memories of strong female figures who had
leading roles in proclaiming the word of salvation. They affirm
that in some Christian circles, men and women were able to exercise
leadership on the basis of their spiritual maturity and not on the
basis of their gender. Furthermore, these writings contain traces
of a conflict between Mary Magdalene and the leading male
disciples, especially Peter. This conflict can be detected already
in Lukes resurrection account and the list of authoritative
witnesses in 1 Corinthians 15:37. Major non-canonical writings
that mention Mary Magdalene also offer a glimpse into the nature of
the conflict concerning her, which seems focus on two themes: (a)
her gender and (b) her remarkable understanding and appropriation
of Jesus teaching. This controversy most likely reflects a
developing tension between those who claimed authority based on the
idea of succession and those who claimed authority based on
spiritual gifts, especially prophetic experience. Greater awareness
of Mary Magdalenes exceptional role in the events surrounding
Jesus death, burial, and resurrection and her leadership in the
early church should not only help us do justice to her
memory.^[4]^

Source of name

Her name indicates that she came from Magdala, a town on the
western shore of the Sea of Galilee. Jesus taught in that area
during the early period of his ministry, and she may have become a
disciple at that time.

Misrepresentations

Few people mentioned in the New Testament have been more
misrepresented than Mary Magdalene. In a 6th century sermon, Pope
Gregory the Great confused her with the unnamed sinful woman,
presumably a prostitute, from Luke 7:3650. She is also often
associated with the woman caught in adultery described in John
7:538:11, even though the text never mentions her name. Because of
misunderstandings like these, Mary Magdalene is usually remembered
as a woman of questionable reputation rather than as the first
witness of the resurrection. Some early Christian writers
identified Mary Magdalene with various other women mentioned in the
New Testament, particularly with Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha
and Lazarus). She has even been identified with the woman that
Jesus rescued from being stoned (John 8:1-11). However, none of
these misidentifications are considered valid
today.^[4]^

Another likely mistaken belief about Mary is that she secretly
married Jesus and had a child with him. This idea has been promoted
by several modern books and movies, including the best-seller
The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown.
This book also associates Mary with the legend of the Holy Grail,
and with a secret society which is said to be protecting some
modern descendants of Jesus. But most scholars regard all of this
as fiction.

Mary Magdalene first at the Resurrection

All four Gospels tell us that women were the first people to
discover the empty tomb. God chose women to be the first ones to
proclaim the most essential truth of the Christian faith: that He
is risen! Mary is best-known for her role in the accounts of the
resurrection, especially the account of John 20:1-18. This passage
says that she went to the tomb early on Easter
morning and saw that the stone had been rolled away. She
immediately ran and told this to Peter and the
unnamed beloved disciple. She returned to the tomb with these two
men, who looked inside and saw that it was empty. After they left,
Mary stayed nearby and began weeping. Then she looked around and
saw Jesus himself, but initially didn't recognize him. Finally he
addressed her by name, and she immediately knew who he was. He told
her not to touch him, but to go announce his resurrection to the
other disciples.

Later life

The Bible doesn't say anything about Mary's later life. According
to a legend, she eventually went to southern France with Lazarus,
who became the first bishop of that region. Other legends say that
she visited Italy, England and Ireland.

Several fragments of an ancient "Gospel of Mary" have been
discovered in modern times. The longest fragment appears to be a
Coptic translation of a Greek source, and the work was probably
originally written in Greek. The main character is called "Mary",
and because she is depicted as a prominent disciple of Jesus, most
scholars assume that she is Mary Magdalene. However, this book
probably wasn't written until the second century, and therefore is
unlikely to contain any valid historical information about the real
Mary Magdalene.

Endnotes

? ^1.0^ ^1.1^ ????? ?
????????? in Matthew 27:56; Matt 27:61; Matt 28:1; Mark 15:40; Mark
15:47; Mark 16:1; Mark 16:9 replaces "?" with "??" because of the
case change). Luke 8:1 says "????? ... ? ?????????" and Luke 24:10
says "? ????????? ?????." John 19:25; John 20:1 and John 20:18 all
say "????? ? ?????????."
? She was named Miriam after the Jewish prophetess of the
Old Testament (see Exodus 15:20-21).
? See Marvin Meyer, with Esther A. de Boer,
The Gospels of Mary: The Secret Traditions of Mary Magdalene the Companion of Jesus
(Harper San Francisco) 2004;Esther de Boer provides an overview of
the source texts excerpted in an essay "Should we all turn and
listen to her?': Mary Magdalene in the spotlight." pp.74-96.
? ^4.0^ ^4.1^ Lidija
Novakovic. "I Have Seen the Lord: Mary Magdalene in the New
Testament and Early Christianity." (PhD, Princeton Theological
Seminary, professor at Bethel University in St. Paul, Minn.)
Mutuality. Spring 2006